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September 6, 2016

Fade Hair Dye Quickly

A few days ago, I had my hair highlighted and stressed to the stylist the importance that my highlights must be ashy...not brassy. Anytime I mention "golden" highlights to a stylist, my hair comes out orange and brassy - nowhere near gold. Every girl with dark hair like me will understand most of the time the end result of highlighting your hair means orange stripes rather than sexy sun-kissed goddess hair.

I emerged from the salon with a head full of white hair...at least the highlights were ashy and not orange? The results were an odd mix of zebra and old lady...not a good look. I went home and immediately dyed my hair with a box of Palty hair dye in Bitter Cappuccino. Then I had that "oops, did I just make things worse" moment. I didn't mind how the top of my head turned out, the highlights were a bit darker and more warm, which is what I wanted - to add more warmth back in. However, the lower half of my hair was now a weird gray-brown...again, not attractive. I knew the dye would eventually fade over time, but I'm impatient, so I searched online...how to quickly fade hair dye.

I soon found that vitamin c works similarly to lemon juice in lightening hair. I didn't follow any step by step instructions, which I probably should have to avoid irritation. Since, I already had a bottle of vitamin c powder at home, I poured a lot...and I mean a lot...I literally dumped the powder into my shampoo. Then left it on for about 20-30 minutes and rinsed. And voila, most of the dye was stripped from my hair. To avoid making mistakes like me (I used so much that even after I rinsed my hair, hands, and face - my face was left with a mild vitamin c peel...no damage, but definite irritation for the entire evening, following onto the next day). I recommend measuring out how much vitamin c you're going to use and wash it out of your hair, hands, and face...thoroughly.

Bottom line - vitamin c mixed with your shampoo works! Try it out but be cautious with how much you use and for how long you leave it in your hair. Some people mentioned they monitored the vitamin c concoction in their hair every 10 minutes to ensure they achieved the lift they were looking for in removing the dye. I do have to mention the highlights that were not originally covered by the box dye became even more ashy after the vitamin c treatment...so just be careful if you're like me and haphazardly covered your hair with dye. Also, it is drying, so make sure to follow up with a deep conditioner.

Before

After

P.S. If you're looking for a cute, flowy, layered cut - I found this amazing stylist's YouTube video on how to cut your own layers! I cut just a small bit of my hair and gave my choppy layers a more refined look. I may also have to set up an appointment in the future since she's located in the bay area.